Wei-Hsuin Yang, PhD, professor of applied mechanics in the College of Engineering, retired from active faculty status on May 31, 2004.
A native of Taiwan, Professor Yang received his BSc degree from National Cheng Kung University in 1958, his MSc degree from the University of Washington in 1962, and his PhD degree from Stanford University in 1965. He joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1965 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 1969 and professor in 1975.
Professor Yang's research focused on the mathematical foundation of plasticity theory, and he played a large role in introducing numerical methods into mechanics. In his later years of his career, he was very proud of his association with the distinguished Professor L. Cesari at the University of Perugia, Italy, on theorems for variational calculus.
Among other notable accomplishments, Professor Yang developed a generalization of the well-known Hölder inequality and applied this generalization to problems of minimal surfaces, placticity and optimal designs. The practical impact of his resarch to industrial manufacturing processes and structural designs is only now being realized. His research interests extend further to solid mechanics, applied mathematics, numerical analysis, structural optimization, manufacturing process optimization, structural crash worthiness, optional design of wheels, and welding, and resulted in more than 65 publications.
Professor Yang was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the scientific research society, Sigma Xi. He served on numerous departmental, college, and university committees, including the Senate Assembly, the college's Coordinating Committee on Mechanics, and the department's graduate, curriculum, admissions, and financial aid committees.
A popular teacher, Professor Yang mentored 19 PhD students. He was also a visiting scholar at many institutions, including the Courant Institute of Mathematical Science at New York University, Stanford University, the University of Stuttgart in Germany, and the University of Perugia.
Professor Yang and his wife have retired to the Bay Area to be with family and friends. The department wishes him well in his retirement.